Brantley Hall

SpiE is a distinct gut microbial 4-cholesten-3-one 5β-reductase that acts with SpiR to convert cholesterol to coprostanol

The paper identifies SpiE as a gut microbial enzyme that, along with SpiR, converts cholesterol to coprostanol, and shows its correlation with stool coprostanol levels and antibiotic impact.

Discovery of BilV reveals a multienzymatic basis for bilirubin reduction across vertebrate gut microbiomes

The paper identifies BilV, a novel enzyme that works with BilR to reduce bilirubin to urobilinogen, and shows its distribution varies across vertebrate gut microbiomes.

Gut Bacteria Metabolize Natural and Synthetic Steroid Hormones via the Reductive OsrABC Pathway

The paper identifies a novel gut bacterial pathway for steroid hormone metabolism and shows its impact on drug efficacy in Crohn's disease.

Gut Bacteria Encode Reductases that Biotransform Steroid Hormones

Gut bacteria encode 5β-reductase, fused 3β-HSDH/Δ5-4 isomerase and Δ6-3-ketosteroid reductase enzymes acting on steroid hormones; two of these genes are enriched in female gut metagenomes.

Gut Microbial Utilization of the Alternative Sweetener, D-Allulose, via AlsE

This study shows that only a limited number of gut bacteria can metabolize D-allulose via AlsE, suggesting its potential as a low-impact sweetener.

Characterizing transcriptional regulatory sequences in coronaviruses and their role in recombination

The paper identifies transcriptional regulatory sequences in coronaviruses and finds recombination hotspots are more frequently co-located with TRS-B sites.

Maleness-on-the-Y (MoY) orchestrates male sex determination in major agricultural fruit fly pests

The paper identifies a Y-linked gene, MoY, essential for male sex determination in medflies and shows its conservation across multiple fruit fly species, enabling potential genetic control strategies.

Comprehensive analysis of mobile genetic elements in the gut microbiome reveals phylum-level niche-adaptive gene pools

The paper characterizes mobile genetic elements in the gut microbiome, revealing phylum-level adaptive gene pools and their role in horizontal gene transfer.